The Tigers are in the second year of a transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. Last year was a 4-7 struggle, losing the first seven games.

APU, which is 7-2 overall this season, is 7-1 and in first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

“This has been a perfect spot for me,” said Danielson, a team captain, who has 36 tackles, 10 tackles for losses and four sacks.

“I wanted to play at the highest level I could, and I wanted to stay close to home. Plus, I wanted a good Christian environment.

“We struggled last season as we moved to Division II. The game was faster. The players were bigger, faster and there were more bigger, faster players on every team.

“But we got our act together the last four games, and it has carried over to this season.”

Mendillo, who missed last week’s win over Western Oregon with an injury, has 25 tackles, piling up 22 of those in a pair of starts.

Mendillo’s father, Mark, is an assistant on the Eastlake staff.

“This has been a great experience,” said Marcus Mendillo. “I learned the game well at Eastlake, but it was a big jump to college.”

The Tigers host Dixie State on Saturday, then wrap up the season at Simon Fraser.

Because the NCAA requires a two-year probation period, the Tigers aren’t eligible for postseason play.

Football

Matt Wile (Francis Parker), the kickoff man and punter at Michigan, hit a 49-yard field goal in Saturday’s loss to Michigan State. Wile has 58 kickoffs for the Wolverines this season and is averaging 40.1 yards on 47 punts.

• Freshman running back Aaron Baltazar (Eastlake) has 50 carries for 234 yards and a pair of TDs at Boise State. Sophomore WR Troy Ware (Vista) has six catches for 81 yards and two TDs for the Broncos.

• Junior WR Victor Dean (Lincoln) has 15 catches for 333 yards and five TDs for Portland State. Senior DB Dean Faddis (Ramona/Palomar College) leads the team with 70 tackles, including four tackles for losses, a sack, nine passes defended and an interception. DE Dame Ndiaye (Hoover) has 12 tackles, including three for losses and a sack.

Women’s volleyball

Senior libero Natalie Hagglund (La Costa Canyon) became USC’s all-time digs leader over the weekend. She had back-to-back 36-dig matches in wins over Stanford and Cal — the ninth time she has posted 30-dig matches — and now has 2,131 career digs.